Boy Scouts blocked from selling camp in Federal Way

Group sought to overturn clause in deed

Published 10:00 pm, Wednesday, February 25, 2009

In a move that will at least temporarily halt efforts to sell the Federal Way property, a state appeals court has blocked the Boy Scouts of America's efforts to sell Camp Kilworth.

The camp, deeded to the Scouts' Pacific Harbors Council in 1934, remains one of the few undeveloped King County parcels abutting Puget Sound. According to court documents, Boy Scout administrators sued in 2006 to remove a clause in the deed that prevented sale of the property to the city of Federal Way for use as a public park.

In October 2007, a Pierce County Superior Court judge agreed with the Boy Scouts' argument, ruling that the youth organization had the ability to modify the rules in the deed. But, in Tuesday's decision, a three-judge Court of Appeals panel rejected that finding.

"Here, the deed is plain on its face," the judges said in their written ruling. "The deed," they added, "should not have been reformed."

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Last month, a Hearst Newspapers investigation revealed that, over the past two decades, the Boy Scouts have sold donated land to developers or logging firms, the latter of which logged at least 34,000 acres. Puget Sound-area councils sold timber on 1,725 acres of Boy Scout-owned land.

But Perrin Walker, an attorney representing the Pacific Harbors Council, said no plans for development were in the works for Camp Kilworth's 25 acres.

Federal Way intended to buy the camp for $3 million to maintain it as a city park, Walker said. Under the agreement, Boy Scout troops would have been able to continue using it for free.

With his wife, Augusta, businessman William Kilworth gifted the property to the Boy Scouts after he died. According to court documents, the deed included a provision that the property would revert to the Kilworth trust should the Boy Scouts sell or lease the property.

But the Pacific Harbors Council moved to sell the camp after a 2004 review of its holdings, Walker said. The effort was aimed at generating revenue for the council, which operates camps near Hood Canal and Tumwater.

"It became very apparent that the facility at Kilworth was not used as much as it had been," Walker said. "It was subject to concerns that it was being urbanized to the point that it couldn't be used as it had been before."

Reached for comment, an attorney for the Kilworth trusts and estates declined to discuss the court's decision since he had not received permission from his clients.

Walker said he plans to review the ruling with his clients and the Federal Way City Attorney's Office before deciding on whether to request a state Supreme Court review.